Girls swimming: The Star-Ledger Top 20 for the week of Feb. 13

Swimming essentials, 2013-14

There are a lot of changes in the new Star-Ledger Top 20 rankings this week, posted below.

The top five of No. 1 Westfield, No. 2 Immaculate Heart, No. 3 Hunterdon Central, No. 4 Hillsborough, and No. 5 Chatham remained the same, but the rest saw many rises and drops.

No. 6 Montgomery jumped up three spots from No. 9 because of only two losses, both against top five opponents. Plus, the Somerset County school entered the NJSIAA state tournament with 4158 power points, and while power points aren't everything, 4150+ is a very impressive total.

Now, before getting to the South Jersey teams that comprise every spot from No. 7 to No. 15, No. 16 Red Bank Catholic dropped 10 spots from No. 6. The Monmouth County school has not defeated a Top 20 opponent yet this season and entered the state tournament with 3301.5 power points, the lowest total of any current Top 20 squad.

No. 17 Pingry and No. 18 Bridgewater-Raritan each jumped up two spots. No. 19 Egg Harbor dropped one spot following its loss in the first round of the South Jersey, Public A tournament. No. 20 Princeton, the top seed in the Central Jersey, Public B bracket, moves into the rankings.

Caldwell and Northern Highlands each dropped out of the rankings. Neither squad had defeated a Top 20 opponent this season. Both entered the tournament with power points in the 3100s and lost to an opponent not currently in the rankings.

As we look to the nine spots remaining in the middle of the rankings, this is a reminder that no results form Wednesday are reflected in these rankings. No. 7 Cherokee leads things off following its victory over No. 8 Shawnee in the South Jersey, Public A semifinals.

No. 9 Ocean City is the next team in line because it defeated No. 10 Clearview earlier in the season. Clearview entered the rankings following its 86-84 win over No. 11 Cherry Hill East in the South Jersey, Public A semifinals.

No. 12 Bishop Eustace is next in the rankings thanks to its regular season win over No. 13 Haddonfield, which defeated No. 14 Cherry Hill West. No. 15 Mainland rounds out the top 15.

Peddie is the top-ranked "Prep" team.

Below is The Star-Ledger girls swimming Top 20 for the week of Feb. 13. It is the 10th edition of the rankings, and the ninth since the preseason poll.

Any thoughts on this week's Top 20? Did we leave a team out or did we overrate/underrate any squad? Leave your questions or general feedback in the comments section and I will try to address them.

*Note: These rankings reflect all meets through Tuesday, Feb. 11. Therefore, no results from Wednesday were taken into account.*